The not-a-heatwave continues here. Our small grandson and I had to put our hoodies on to go put to run around in the garden this morning. Other places may be really hot but it’s not been happening here for the last couple of days. When we went to the park later we went prepared for all eventualities: raincoats and sun hats and factor 50 sunblock! Crazy weather!
The news has been largely full of the Conservative Party’s struggle to choose a new leader. For the most part it won’t make a great deal of difference to the rest of us but it would be nice to have a PM who does not blindly lead us into a nuclear war.
Some wag commented on labels on unisex toilets at a campaign launch venue being rapidly changed to say “Ladies” and “Gents” because of the opinions of the candidate for Tory Party leadership concerned. It might have been at Kemi Badenoch’s launch judging by this report about toilets in public buildings:
“New offices, schools, hospitals and entertainment venues will be expected to have separate male and female lavatories, government sources have confirmed, in a move to curb the sole installation of gender-neutral facilities.
Ministers will formally announce this week that they will prevent non-residential buildings from being built solely with “universal” lavatories. The move will involve changes to building regulations and planning guidance.
The plans, headed by the equalities minister, Kemi Badenoch, were quietly approved last month, the Sunday Telegraph reported. The government has said some children are avoiding using lavatories at school because they only have access to gender-neutral facilities.”
Well, at least that tells me who Kemi Badenoch is. I had not even consciously heard her name until the question of Tory Party leadership came up. Mind you, I can’t say Penny Mordaunt was a commonly noticed name either - not by me anyway.
As regards the public toilets matter, it’s all very well for campaigners for trans rights to tell us that gender-neutral toilets can be reassuring for some transgender men and women who fear discrimination in binary toilets. As a woman, I would prefer to share my public toilets just with women, even if some of them used to be men. Their presence does not bother me at all. I feel the same about changing rooms at swimming baths or in shops. And as for open plan areas for trying on clothes in shops, well, just don’t get me started - not even a gender issue, more a question of embarrassment if the item you try on does not fit!
More arguments for and against rules on public toilets in this article.
Meanwhile on the other side of the world, in New Zealand to be specific they are tightening laws on public-pooping! “It is currently an offence to defecate or urinate in a public place (other than in a public lavatory), but, if the person can show they had reasonable grounds for believing they were not being observed, they may be able to escape a $200 fine.
The Responsible Campers Association Inc argues the law should also require people to show they conducted their business at least 50 metres from a waterway and the waste is buried to at least 15cm.”
It seems that “freedom camping” is quite a big thing in New Zealand. I assumed it means just pitching your tent any old where but I thought I had better check, and I found a set of questions and answers, beginning with these:
What is freedom camping on public land and how does it differ from other types of camping?
Camping on public ground, rather than at a campsite, is known as freedom camping. If you intend to freedom camp on public conservation property, you must adhere to the following regulations.. You are not permitted to freedom camp in conservation zones where freedom camping is not permitted.
Why is freedom camping an issue?
Free camping, unfortunately, is having an increasingly negative impact on New Zealand’s clean, green environment as the number of freedom campers grows. Some of these campers litter, dispose of human waste in an insufficient manner, and discharge grey water outside of dump stations, all of which are detrimental to the environment.
What are the rules around freedom camping?
In most cases, freedom campers will be permitted to camp on Department of Conservation (DoC) land in vehicles that are not self-contained, unless the DoC has specifically limited or forbidden camping in vehicles of this type. Freedom campers can continue to camp out in tents overnight if they are authorized to do so.
So it’s called ‘freedom” camping but you are not “free” to camp just wherever you like. But as long as you can prove you think nobody saw you, it’s okay to poo al fresco! Would you really drop your pants if you thought someone was looking?
Returning to the UK, the latest on the Tory circus is this:
Rishi Sunak - 101 (up 13)
Penny Mordaunt - 83 (up 16)
Liz Truss - 64 (up 14)
Kemi Badenoch - 49 (up 9)
Tom Tugendhat - 32 (down 5)
Suella Braverman - 27 (down 5)
That means Braverman is out. But Kemi Badenoch is still there.
How much more of this do I have to hear about? Will my nerves stand it - or my boredom threshold?
Life goes on. Stay safe and well everyone!
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